Packers#1's ongoing ideas thread

[Guilford Guy]

In College you're really going to want all the space you could possibly have, not to mention you'll probably have friends or even roommates who are clumsy. If you do build a layout at all, I recommend a very compressed version. The dorm I just moved out of had a desk about 20"x46"wide, and a small layout that could fit towards the back of that, or on the bookshelf you'll probably get of similar length. I wouldn't plan anything too extravagant until you know exactly how much stuff you have and how that will fill the space you get.

[packers#1]

In College you're really going to want all the space you could possibly have, not to mention you'll probably have friends or even roommates who are clumsy. If you do build a layout at all, I recommend a very compressed version. The dorm I just moved out of had a desk about 20"x46"wide, and a small layout that could fit towards the back of that, or on the bookshelf you'll probably get of similar length. I wouldn't plan anything too extravagant until you know exactly how much stuff you have and how that will fill the space you get.

I'd probably just leave the layout back at home and only take a few projects to work on; unless I go to Vandy, I'll probably stay in state so home won't be too terribly far away. looking around online I've found a few layouts I like
http://www.gatewaynmra.org/layouts/gc15/project15-trackplan.htm (since this is HO, it'd be a really compact n scale)
I may combine the two plans and lengthen the size of the first some to fit an couple of longer sidings or a small downtown row in...decisions decisions

[Specter3]

I remember my dorm room at Auburn very well and there wasn't enough space for the basic stuff I had much less a layout. Now once I moved to an apartment there was space I could have done something in. Not that I did any modeling while I was in college. All my gear was home in NY, and a VW rabbit does not hold much if I had thought about bringing some down with me. Plus I was into HO back then so it was not even a question. I would say leave the trains at home for the first bit, get to know your roommate and some other guys on the floor and then make a decision as to bringing trains there. You will not be the only one in and out of the room. If you and your roommate get along and have the same friends then it is not as much an issue. If you do not get along and have different friends then you will have lots of times when there are 3 or 4 people you do not know hanging out in your room without you there for extended periods. You can see where this is going. Go to school, figure out the lay of the land, and then after Christmas break there will be the opportunity to bring some stuff back if the environment is good. I was lucky and my roommate and I got along famously. We were from completely different places(Suburban NY vs small town Arkansas) but we became good friends. But I knew other guys that could not stand their roommates and they worked real hard to not be in the room at the same time except to sleep. Not to alarm you or cause you worry, but something to keep in the back of your mind.

[packers#1]

Specter you got a good point there...seems like the current plan is keep workin on the loop, build a small switching layout above my workbench, and then when college gets here, well, trains stay at home and I haunt the internet armchair modeling haha

[Bremner]

why not build a N Scale timesaver on a 36x6 inch tabler and call it quits?

[Specter3]

I will say I had my subscription to MR sent to my school address and I did read it cover to cover every month. I know some schools have a model railroad club with a layout in space provided by the university. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in NY has a long running club. There may be a small club at some of the schools you are looking at. If not then I am sure you could start one at a large enough university. IE enough students that you could find 20-30 student modelers. I would think you would have no trouble finding a faculty adviser or two(or 10).

[packers#1]

OK, after inspiration from http://www.gatewaynmra.org/layouts/gc15/project15-trackplan.htm I've come up with this plan:

And with industry tags


Layout theme
This is the end of an industrial belt line on the SC side of the savannah river (for now, location subject to change). The red passing track is only used to switch industries, not meet trains or anything. there is cassette staging for the interchange and the rest of the line. the benchwork extension to the top or right (depends on the pic you're viewing) might be just a board screwed into the side of the frame or a 6 inch wide or one foot or full two foot extension. i will be putting this over the top of my workbench, which is 4x2 feet, like the plan (the extension to the side has room though).

Ops
here's where i really suck. I know i have the leads (with the cassette and extension) for the passing track to be operable and thus allow for all spurs to be comfortably switched. I'm not sure as to the sequence, as i don't have much experience. anyone have links to explain how to set it up or something?

I'll be filling in scenes etc as i browse rrpicturearchives.net (like greenville sc or augusta ga or places like that). Also, by the tracks downtown, there's plenty of scenes to fill in the open space by the yard tracks.

So what all do you guys think? Is the plan operable?

[cv_acr]

The three industries all on the same switchback is pretty awkward for switching, and very "model railroad".

Not saying that switchbacks don't occur, but you'd be hard pressed to find any real world example of an industry located on the lead of a switchback serving two other industries. Switching that will be very awkward if there's any cars at all three places.

Otherwise, probably workable, although if every industry is at capacity, and you try to switch them all out in one "session" it'll be quite cramped.

[Chris333]

I know of a nice layout design that would be perfect for you:
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=24399.0

[MVW]

Pack,

Your plan is certainly operable, although I would agree with the previous poster that you would be better off losing one of the three industries on the backside track (probably the plastics place).

However, once you throw in your cassettes/extensions, you're talking about a space that is suddenly more like 2.5 x 6 feet, right? Take the previous poster's advice and take a good, hard look at M.C.'s switching layout. It's a smaller footprint, makes better use of the space and folds for storage/transport. Plus it's just a beautiful piece of work.

I imagine it could also be incorporated into a larger layout in the future without too much trouble.

Good luck!

Jim

[packers#1]

I'd rather keep the plastics place for more cars, so I'll ditch the fertilizer and use that instead.
the permanent extension isn't a problem, since under that is a bunch of shoe boxes i use for storage. as for the cassettes, there's room for them during ops.
Here's a quick snap of my workbench, to give you an idea. There's probably four or five feet in front of the bench for a cassette, and to the side is my loop of unitrak and then a short storage so plenty of room for a three or four foot long cassette.
 
However, my question now is how are cassettes made? will I need to add an extension to the benchwork or just plug it in?
Also, my idea for ops is a needs-based switching, so i'd serve the warehouses and then the plastic pellet whenever they needed service. However, I will remove the switchback to see how it looks.

My only real problem with something like MC has done is I see a LOT of turnouts, and that means a LOT of money because I don't have a fasttracks jig and have zero experience with hand-laying track. I don't want to sink a whole lot of money into the trackwork; right now i have three Micro Engineering turnouts and eight sticks of Atlas flex (all code 55).

So then I guess the question is, what are the key points of MC's plan that make it work and how can it be condensed to less turnouts but still some ops. I like the idea of a laid-back ops session where maybe one or two industries get switched. I'd like to still have a few warehouses on the same spur in a fashion like the now-famous CSX Miami East Rail complex

[MVW]

Looks like MC has 14 turnouts on his layout. You could easily cut that back to 10 without losing much operability (hey, did I just make a new word?). Go to a single turnout at the cannery, ditch the car float in favor of a single line to another industry in its place, drop one or two of the yard tracks at right.

Yes, you would still need seven more turnouts that you have. On the other hand, I think you'd need four more for your track plan, right? So the net difference is only three turnouts, or somewhere around $45. Now, if that's unaffordable, it's unaffordable. Most of us have been there. But maybe you could build in stages. Drop the three turnouts to MC's backside industries for now. You'd only have to pull up one piece of flex to add them later. If cash is tight, that's three less industries for you to build right now.

I understand the attraction of using your own plan. It looks like it might be fun. I guess the concern I would have is that with the extension and the two cassettes sticking out, it's starting to look a little Rube Goldbergish. A skillful builder could pull it off, but I ain't one of those guys so I wouldn't attempt it. (But that's just me.)

Another downside is that you only have room to spot about a half-dozen cars on your design. Even if you drop the back three industries from MC's design, there's room for about nine cars. Add the back industries, and you can probably more than double that. He has a total of six industries to your three, and his contain multiple car spots. That means lots more switching fun.

I'm not trying to push you in MC's direction. Just suggesting you might want to play around with a few more ideas before you start laying track. If money is tight, design something that can be built in stages. Build with the idea of incorporating this layout in a larger pike someday. That's a good way to get the most bang for your hobby buck.

Just my two cents. Best of luck whichever route you choose!

Jim

[DKS]

Your design isn't unworkable, IMO, but its big departure from its inspiration is the fact that it absolutely needs the extensions in order to be operated, whereas the Gateway Central is more or less self-contained. Your original plan can be reworked to eliminate the need for the cassettes and extensions, making then optional instead. Also, I tend to think the curve on the interchange track is way too tight.

Here's what I'd do: compress the runaround so that you can perform operations without extensions, and swing the interchange around to exit to the right. This also eliminates the awkward T-shape when the layout's in use. It also allows you to reduce the core module from 24 x 48 to 12 x 48, if you want.

[avel]

Hopefully this inspires you.
I handlaid three turnouts using code 40 rail and PC board ties for my first N scale layout. The first one didn't look great, but it performed flawlessly. Used a file on the first one, took me about eight hours. Second one took me about 47 minutes because I used a Dremel.
Yes I'm bragging           

Wish I had backed up my Geocities site

May still have some files on my old harddrive.    Anyway good luck!

[packers#1]

Jim, hmmmmm, time to get down to figuring that out, thanks for the idea!
DKS, do you have the file for that plan? I'm digging it haha; will probably add about 6 inches and swing the front spur around to better seperate the scenes and add a bit of industrial buildings perhaps. Also, I want to ditch the switchback for a crossing of the two spurs to make it look a bit better perhaps?
avel, oiiii, I'm still unsure  know where to find some good sites for researching handlaying track?